For the first time, a pope visits the second largest landlocked country in the world. Francisco will stay there until Monday. He also wants to promote dialogue between religions.
Pope Francis arrived in Ulan Bator at the beginning of his trip to Mongolia. The 86-year-old man landed in the Mongolian capital on Friday in a special plane operated by Italian airline Ita. The head of the Catholic Church was received by Foreign Minister Batmunkh Battsetsegund. A young woman presented the pontiff with a cup of dry yogurt, a Mongolian specialty. This is a common welcoming gesture in the country.
It is the first visit by a pope to the second largest landlocked country in the world. Francisco will stay there until Monday. After flying overnight, he wanted to avoid commitments on the first day of his visit. On Saturday he will meet with the Mongolian government and hold talks. He then gives a public speech and meets with clergy. During the visit there will be an inter-religious meeting, which will also be attended by the parish priest of the Russian Orthodox Church in Ulan Bator.
Only 1,500 Catholics and 25 priests
In Mongolia there are just under 1,500 Catholics and a total of 25 priests among the more than three million inhabitants. The main religions there are Buddhism and Shamanism. The journey is, therefore, also characterized by dialogue between religions. The country’s geographic location is also interesting to the Pope. The democratic state is sandwiched between Russia and China.
Francis described his trip to Mongolia as a long-awaited visit to the “heart of Asia” that would allow him to “embrace a Church that is small in numbers but alive in faith and great in charity.” During the flight to Mongolia, he praised the silence and vastness of the country. Despite the small Catholic community, the country has a cardinal: the Italian Giorgio Marengo, 49, has headed the Apostolic Prefecture of Ulan Bator since 2020.
Struggle with health problems
Francis’s visit to Mongolia is one of three papal trips within two months. In early August, Francisco participated in World Youth Day in Lisbon and at the end of September he traveled to Marseille, France, for two days. He has been battling health problems for a long time. Due to severe knee pain, the pontiff relies on a wheelchair. He has already been hospitalized twice this year: first for pneumonia; In June he underwent intestinal surgery under general anesthesia.